Business group takes aim at DFL tax plan

A group of business leaders are pressing DFL legislative leaders and Gov. Mark Dayton to focus on budget reductions rather than tax increases.

The group, United for Jobs, is releasing television, radio and newspaper ads around the state saying that proposals to increase state spending by $2 billion would crush the economy.

“How can legislators justify a 7 percent spending increase when the economy is only growing by 2 percent?” asked Charlie Weaver, executive director of the Minnesota Business Partnership.

Business leaders persuaded Dayton to drop a major tax reform proposal that included billions of dollars in new business taxes. But Dayton is digging in over his proposal to raise income taxes on high earners, a plan which was a hallmark of his campaign for governor.

“Minnesota’s tax system has been stacked against the middle class for a generation," said Bob Hume, a Dayton spokesman. "It’s not a surprise that the corporate special interests who haven’t been paying their fair share don’t want to.”

A Duluth native who just barely lost Virginia's GOP gubernatorial primary said that politicians have not gone far enough in condemning the left for violence during a rally of white nationalists in Charlottesville. "I think that the left is going to try to use this as an excuse to crack down on conservative free speech," said Corey Stewart. "I think they're going to try to use this as an excuse to remove more historical monuments."